MARCH 15, 2002
Smoke Signals 3
Tribal Elder Loved to Dance, Play Baseball and
Remembers When a Movie Cost 25 Cents
Wilmadene Butler had 19 brothers and sisters while growing up in Grand Ronde.
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Daddy's Girl - Tribal member Wilmadene "Tuff"
Butler is pictured here in Grand Ronde with her father
Andy Riggs. Wilmadene was one of 20 children born
to Riggs and Amanda Jeffries and spent much of her
youth hanging out with friends, picking berries and
going to movies.
By Chris Mercier
There was a time once, when the Grand
Ronde Indian Reservation was 96,000
acres. The Reservation bordered right
about where Highway 18 is now. That corner
store at Grand Ronde Road and the highway
formed the heart of Grand Ronde the town,
which didn't consist much of more than a bar
ber shop, a beauty shop, a grocer and a school.
Cars were a sight to see.
Tribal Elder Wilmadene "Tuff' Butler remem
bers everything, because all this was the arena
for her childhood.
"There wasn't much here," she told me, while
we lounged around in her living room in
Monmouth. "It was like any other hole in the
wall. Wasn't much to do at all. We played
around, sometimes went wading in creeks. We'd
also visit relatives, and as we got older, we'd play
baseball."
We sat there on a Wednesday, February 20,
the exact same day she was born back in 1934,
in Grand Ronde. Wilmadene smiled softly while
recounting everything, that look on her face of
somebody thinking of an era long past, nostal
gic, perhaps a little yearning and with few re
grets. She is one of those people who can't seem
to decide what are her fondest memories. And
after a while, you realize, like her, it is probably
because they are all equally fond ones.
"Yeah we just played around back then," she
told me. "We would go and look for chittam and
celery. Or we'd look for wild strawberries and
blackberries. Licorice... you could always find
that at the bottom of the alders. Wild currants . . .
"Oh there wasn't much to do at all, visit rela
tives," she repeated. "In fact practically every
body is my relative. As we got older we'd play
baseball."
Baseball. An interesting choice of
sport, but not too surprising, given the
fact that she was one of 20 children born
to Andy Riggs and Amanda Jeffries who
tied the knot at 21 and 16, respectively.
Between that bunch, fielding a team of
nine players each wouldn't have been
too difficult.
'Tup, it's true. I had 19 brothers and
sisters," she said. "And we all played
baseball."
Movies were a big deal too and
Wilmadene can remember slipping into
the theater whenever the opportunity
presented itself. She can't recall any
movie in particular, aside from "Gone
With The Wind." But she won't ever
forget the price 25 cents.
Hanging out was a hobby that became
virtually arbitrary and Wilma had no
shortage of companions, though her
cousin Lois and now Tribal Council
Member Val Grout definitely got the
greater share of her time.
"Val and I have always been best bud
dies," she said. "I remember how we
would go see the fleet in Tillamook."
She giggled and smiled.
"We loved those Navy guys."
No pastime, however, seemed to consume
Wilma more than dancing. It's a hobby that,
were she able, would still continue to this day.
"Oh I loved going to dances," she said. "I could
do it all the jitterbug, the waltz. I loved danc
ing with Jim Petite. He was a beautiful dancer.
As a matter of fact he's the one who taught me
to waltz."
The burden of such a large family undoubt
edly took its toll on Amanda, who eventually fell
ill when Wilma was in her teens. She had to
quit school in the 8th grade to help around the
house. That arrangement almost appeared to
be a family tradition.
"My mother was also a housewife," Wilma said.
"My father believed women belonged in the
home. She didn't really have any choice.
"He was very traditional," she continued. "He
also thought women shouldn't own cars."
Andy Riggs, for whom that road in Grand
Ronde is named after, supported the family as a
logger, insisting his wife stay home. Even after
breaking both his legs in a logging accident, he
stood by that belief. Wilma was thus amply pre
pared for her marriage to Jim Butler, who held
similar views. The couple was married Novem
ber 11, 1954.
"Jim and I wanted to do something special for
our wedding," she said. "And we thought about
having it in Vancouver and asked 'Why not?'"
Jim was a logger, and would remain so for a
long time. His skills were well rounded,
Wilmadene said, enough that "he could run any
piece of equipment in the woods." Being that
good meant handsome pay and Jim insisted no
wife of his was going to have to work. And so
Wilmadene became a homemaker, raising their
one daughter, Cynthia, taking up lifelong hob
bies like crocheting, embroidering, canning and
floral arrangements.
Being a logging family meant moving with the
work. They drifted all around Oregon, stopping
in Warm Springs for a spell, and then Roseburg,
and Wacoma Beach near Lincoln City. Valsetz
marked their final move and Jim retired from
the profession in 1979, after breaking his back
twice and 11 separate surgeries.
Jim took up commercial fishing next, even
purchasing a boat in Pacific City, the town that
eventually became a summer home of sorts.
Wilma and Jim have both retired, residing
peacefully in Monmouth, tracking the progress
of their three grandchildren Jamie, Kelly, and
James (Jimbo), all in grade school. Cynthia lives
less than a mile away.
"I guess I still keep up my old hobbies," Wilma
told me. "I do a lot of embroidering pillow
cases, dish towels. I write letters to my friends."
She also makes the occasional venture into
Grand Ronde to visit family, like her niece Vio
let Zimbrick, or best friend Grout. Wilma wishes
she could have moved to eastern Oregon, around
John Day, saying that area was perfect for her.
But she and Jim made a compromise in
Monmouth.
And they both seem quite content with that.
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Heart of Gold Ask anyone who knows her and they will tell you emphatically that Tribal Elder Wilmadene
Butler has a heart of gold and will do just about anything for anyone. Along with her husband Jim, they make
their home in Monmouth spending time with their daughter Cynthia and her three children Jamie, Kelly and
Jimbo.